Texas Hold'em Rules
Texas Hold'em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The game can be played with anywhere from 2 to 10 players at a table.
The Objective
The main objective in Texas Hold'em is to create the best five-card poker hand using any combination of the seven cards available to you, made up of your two private hole cards and the five community cards on the table.
Game Play:
1. Blinds:
Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the dealer post "blinds", or forced bets. The player directly to the dealer's left puts out the small blind, while the player two places to the left puts out the big blind, which is typically double the size of the small blind.
2. Dealing the Cards:
Each player is dealt two private cards face down – these are called "hole cards".
3. The First Betting Round (Pre-Flop):
Starting with the player sitting left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The betting continues around the table clockwise.
4. The Flop:
After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a "burn" card and is done to prevent cheating. Then, the dealer deals three cards face-up on the board. These are community cards that every player can use.
5. The Second Betting Round:
The betting starts with the first remaining player seated to the left of the dealer button. Players can check (not bet anything), bet, call, raise, or fold, depending on the previous action.
6. The Turn:
The dealer burns another card and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the "turn" card or "Fourth Street".
7. The Third Betting Round:
This round is identical to the second betting round, starting with the player still in the hand to the left of the dealer button.
8. The River:
After burning another card, the fifth and final community card is placed on the board. This card is called the "river" or "Fifth Street".
9. The Final Betting Round:
The final round of betting occurs, starting with the player left of the dealer button.
10. The Showdown:
If there are two or more players remaining after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. Players reveal their cards, and the player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
The player with the highest-ranking hand wins. The hand rankings, from highest to lowest, are:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pair
- One Pair
- High Card
